Speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was in Beijing for his first-ever foreign trip was rife yesterday after Japanese media reported the arrival and departure of a special train met by a Chinese honor guard.
Heightened security at possible venues for a high-level meeting, motorcades driven under police escort and a non-denial from Chinese authorities also fueled the belief that Kim had come to pay his respects to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
If confirmed, it would mark Kim’s first trip abroad since coming to power in 2011 and signal an intriguing twist in a rapid diplomatic thaw that has opened the door to separate summits between Kim and the presidents of South Korea and the US.
Photo: Reuters
Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported the train’s departure from a Beijing station, but said it was not clear if Kim was aboard, a day after its arrival sparked rampant speculation about the mystery passenger’s identity.
Any information on rumors that Kim or another high-level North Korean official had paid a visit to Beijing would be released “in due course,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) said.
China was willing to work with North Korea to “continue to play a positive and constructive role in order to realize the denuclearization of the [Korean] Peninsula,” she said.
Bill Bishop, publisher of the Sinocism China Newsletter, said Xi likely wanted to meet with Kim before a summit with US President Donald Trump, which could take place in May.
“They’re concerned about being left out, with the North Koreans directly cutting a deal with the Americans that doesn’t necessarily reflect Chinese interests,” Bishop said.
At the Diaoyutai guest house, where Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, stayed during his visits to Beijing, there was an unusually heavy police presence with officers stationed every 50m to 100m in front of the imposing compound.
A motorcade of limousines yesterday morning left the guest house under a police escort.
There was also heightened security at two possible venues for a high-level meeting — the Great Hall of the People and Zhongnanhai, the central leadership compound next to Beijing’s Forbidden City.
South Korean media speculated that the visitor might also have been Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, or North Korea’s ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam.
The mystery began after Japanese broadcaster Nippon TV showed footage of a train — similar to that used for foreign visits by Kim Jong-il — pulling in to Beijing Station and being met by a military honor guard and a convoy of black limousines.
Chinese censors yesterday deleted or blocked any mention of Kim Jong-un, North Korea, or the supposed visit, even going so far as to bar insulting Chinese nicknames for him.
Kim Jong-un is often referred to on China’s Internet by the moniker “Kim Fatty the Third” — as the third Kim to lead North Korea after his grandfather Kim Il-sung, and father, Kim Jong-il.
Even variations like “Fatty Fatty Fatty has come,” “Fatty Fatty Fatty Beijing” and “he really came” appear to be banned phrases on the Weibo service.
However, Chinese investors sought to make a profit off the rumored visit. The Mandarin character for “Kim” is pronounced “jin” and means “gold,” and some Chinese companies with “jin” in their name soared.
A Chinese firm called Changbai Mountain Tourism Co surged by its 10 percent daily limit in Shanghai. Changbai mountain is a peak along the China-North Korea border.
Another firm called Dongguan Golden Sun Abrasives also surged by its 10 percent limit. “Golden Sun” is seen by some Chinese as referring to Kim Jong-un.
Other companies whose names contained at least one character from Kim Jong-un’s full name also jumped.
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